Diameter is an authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) protocol for computer networks, and is a successor to RADIUS. The Diameter base protocol is defined in IETF RFC 3588, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. A Diameter node is a host process that implements the Diameter protocol and a DSR message processor (MP) is a computer or blade that hosts a DSR signaling application. A Diameter signaling router (DSR) is a set of co-located DSR MPs that share common Diameter routing tables and are supported by a pair of service, operations, administration, and management (SOAM) servers. A DSR may consist of one or more Diameter nodes.
A DSR may include multiple MPs. However, one problem associated with such a configuration is that it is not scalable or user friendly because each MP typically must be configured separately by an operator. When a Diameter message is received at a DSR, the message may need to be processed by one or more Diameter applications. Currently, there is no method for automatically routing Diameter messages to the appropriate Diameter application and, ultimately, to its next hop destination. As such, the operator is burdened with manually configuring inter-MP links, which can be difficult, time consuming, and prone to error. Additionally, each MP is burdened with the full overhead associated with Diameter routing.
Accordingly, in light of these difficulties, a need exists for improved methods, systems, and computer readable media for providing local application routing at a Diameter node.